Poll

Today's Opinions

A half century ago in rural Pennsylvania, a woman named Clem spent her mornings immersed in the pungent smell of chlorine and the ornery noise of youngsters wakened too early.

Part drill instructor and part den mother, Clem preached water safety with the fervor of a country minister, and over the years she taught thousands of young charges how to swim. For the older students, the ones earning their lifeguard certification, this also meant a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

In the 1980s, futurist John Naisbitt coined the term “high tech/high touch.”

“The more technology we introduce into society,” he wrote, “the more people will aggregate, will want to be with other people.”

While some predicted technologies such as home entertainment would mark the end of the movie theater, Naisbitt astutely observed that people don’t go to theaters to see movies per se; we go there to see movies with other people.

As a boy I used to pass time on the school bus by counting street signs bearing names of classmates or family friends: Norman Lane. Willa Way. Lemasters Drive. Julie Lane. Granzella Road. Herzman Drive. What a novelty, I thought, to live in a community where roads are named after residents who are still living.

Anybody know where a guy can buy some crow meat? And while we’re at it, do any of you have a good crow recipe?

I confidently wrote last year that while Donald Trump’s and Bernie Sanders’ campaigns for president were showing signs of success, they couldn’t last. I asserted that Trump’s success was nothing more than the result of the outrageousness of his comments, and that Sanders’ appeal had more to do with an enthusiasm gap for Hillary Clinton than for any real support for him.